A rescue centre is looking for a home for a monkey which has effectively been "imprisoned" for 20 years.

Nobby, a rhesus macaque, was saved from an enclosure in a one-bedroom flat. Rescuer Iain Newby said the animal should never have been kept like this.

He said: "The owner had him for 20 years, kept behind glass in a sectioned-off area. He'd never even seen another monkey."

Now 20, Nobby could live to 35. But Mr Newby, from the Dangerous Wild Animal Rescue Facility in Little Wakering, Essex, said: "These animals do not make good pets. We are looking for a wildlife park, zoo or private collection. Nobby has been institutionalised. He has had 20 years in prison."

The monkey, native to India, Afghanistan and China, joins turtles, iguanas and a Burmese python abandoned over Christmas. Mr Newby said: "If you put an exotic animal in a cage, you need to get the light, heating and food right - if one of these is wrong, you are mistreating it."